HISTORY 481R - OTHER ENGLISH SOURCES

Course Outline Spring 2007

Objective

This course will teach you about important English records or concepts of British family history not covered in the pre-1700 or post-1700 classes. You will be exposed to a variety of reference materials to help you continue your own family research or to help you obtain credentials and respect in the genealogical community.

Class Schedule

Class Date	Topic(s) to be covered (linked to “handout”)	Assignment                                         (due class following discussion)
01 May	Introduction; Reference material	None
03 May	Stuart Raymond guides,                Family History Library Catalog,         FHL call number explanation	Stuart Raymond assignment
08 May	Family Search: Ancestral File, IGI, PRF, FHLC & more	FamilySearch assignment
10 May	Smith's Inventory of Genealogical Sources: England	Smith’s Inventory assignment
15 May	British Biographical Archives / British & Irish Biographies	British Biographies Assignment
17 May	Gentlemen's Magazine	Gentlemens Magazine Assignment
22 May	National Inventory of Documentary Sources and Manorial Documents Register	NIDS assignment
24 May	the Internet	Internet Assignment
29 May	Review for Midterm	(review!)
31 May	MidTerm exam	none
05 Jun	1851 religious house census	1851 assignment
07Jun	Parliamentary Papers and             Records of Parliament	Parliamentary Papers Assignment
12 Jun	East India Company records	East India Assignment
14 Jun	KewLists,   ARCHON, & Archive guides, lists & aids	Kew Lists Assignment                 and  Archive Guides assignment
19 Jun	Mordy's collection (Jewish records)      Wagner Huguenot Collection        and       Review for final exam	Mordy Assignment                       and  Wagner Huguenot Assignment
21 Jun	Final Exam	Turn in journal at beginning of class

Class procedure:

Each class period will begin with a question/answer period on the previous week's assignment followed by a lecture and discussion of the assigned topic. Any remaining time will be for research, study, and follow-up questions.

Readings for the class

Research Outline: England is required and can be obtained online, from the library attendant office on the British floor, or from the Distribution Center.

Other material will be assigned. You may either read it while in the Family History Library, borrow it from another library, or photocopy select pages.

Recommended reference aids are listed with the first night’s web material on the schedule above.

Assignments and tests

Each week you will be given an assignment consisting of readings, exercises, and problem solving. The Family History Library collection is large, with a wide range of material. However, you may use additional materials from other libraries (BYU, U of U, Public) which are pertinent to the course.

There will be two exams. The Midterm will contain two parts: Closed Book (short answers, essay questions, record selection) and Open Library (document recognition, Quick lookups, research problem). Before exams, we will discuss what will be included. Use this review to help prepare for the test. The test will be based on lectures and items found in the various reading or homework assignments

I encourage you to bring your own research to class and to use your family names when searching the various records rather than the names supplied by the instructor. I will provide you with sample problems and names to research mainly because the selected information can be found if the proper procedure is followed.

Grading:	% of final grade
Class attendance and participation	5
In-class presentations	12
Weekly assignments	25
Midterm test score	15
Final exam score	20
Glossary	8
Report or research log (applied research)	15

In-class Presentations:

Most class periods will give one or more students the opportunity to present a summary of what they found in the reading assignments for the topic of discussion that night. Students are encouraged to make a meaningful presentation, summarizing the key learnings. Visual aids, or a printed outline, list, or written summary (with enough copies for the class or links to a web page) may accompany the presentation, if helpful.

Research Log:

Seek to apply the topic of each week to your personal research and record your results (if nothing found, say so). If your own family was not in the right time period or place, use any name or ask the instructor for an example to use. Use a formal research log to record date, call number, what you were looking for, and what you found or didn’t find. The research log should be clear enough for the instructor to figure out what you were trying to do and whether you used the source correctly. Be sure to record the results (photocopy or extract acceptable). It may be necessary to attach a pedigree or family group record to illustrate the situation.

Research Paper:

In place of a research log, you may write an 8-12 page research paper (double spaced, 12 pt. font, “typed”) on a specific record, source, reference work, or research situation covered in this class. You should try to explain something worthwhile about how to use the source, find the record, apply the principles, and/or solve the situation. The research paper should not be a simple statement of the facts, but something worthwhile and/or capturing interest and deserving of publication.

Glossary:

Each week, some new terms may be introduced. Make a note of these and by the end of the block, have a glossary of terms. I suggest entering them into a word processor and then sorting them into alphabetical order. If a different arrangement suits you better, I have no problem with your using what makes sense to you. There should be at least one term from each topic covered.